Board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game device which includes a board having a substantially planar upper surface and a plurality of upwardly projecting pegs oriented in an equally spaced relationship on the board for receiving balls having sockets or recesses therein whereby the balls may be positioned on and moved from peg to peg in a prescribed manner for playing a game with the size and shape of the balls being such that to properly manipulate the balls, the players of the game will exercise their fingers which is especially helpful when a person has an arthritic condition which can be alleviated by manipulation of the balls.

United States Patent 1. 1 McPl ail et al.

[ 1 June 25, 1974 BOARD GAME APPARATUS [76] Inventors: William B. McPhail; Hazel M.

McPhail, both of 48 Oakley Way, New Port Richey, Fla. 33552 [22] Filed: Apr. 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 352,478

[52] U.S. Cl.... 273/131 BA, 273/130 B, 273/136 E,

272/67 [51] 1111.01. A63f 3/00 [58] Field 61 Search ..273/14, 130, 131, 132,

273/133, 134, 136, 153, 156; 35/27; 272/67 7 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 505,027 9/1893 Carpenter .4, 273/117 I 2,749,128 6/1956 Arnold 273/134 GM 2,751,228 6/1956 R6 6 273/131 13 2,801,107 7/1957 Greer 273/130 AC FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 420,351 11/1910 France 273/131D Primary Examiner-Delbert B. Lowe Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A. O'Brien; Harvey B. Jacobson ABSTRACT A game device which includes a board having a substantially planar upper surface and a plurality of upwardly projecting pegs oriented in an equally spaced relationship on the board for receiving balls having Sockets 0r recesses therein whereby the balls may be positioned on and moved from peg to peg in a prescribed manner for playing a game with the Size and Shape of the balls being such that to properly manipulate the balls, the playersof the game will exercise their fingerswhich is especially helpful when a person has an arthritic condition which can be alleviated by manipulation of the balls.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures v 1 v BOARD GAME APPARATU BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to game devices of the type employing a board and game pieces positionable on the board and manipulated thereon in a particular manner in order to play a game.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many game devices have been provided for positioning game pieces on a game board and manipulating such pieces in a manner to orient the game pieces in a particular pattern .on the board. For example, distinguishable game pieces may be oriented so that a number of the game pieces may be oriented in a row in order to win the game. This type of game may use game pieces bearing an X" and an O in order to play the game of Tic-Tac-Toe. An example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,977, issued Aug. 17, 1971 in which the game pieces are rotatable and form a target area. Other patents disclosing related game devices are U.S. Pat. No. 463,468, issued Nov. 17, 1891, U.S.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a game device in which a game board is provided of generally square configuration and the upper surface thereof is substantially planar and provided with upstanding pegs which receive balls in a predetermined manner, or sequence, with the balls also being capable of movement on the game board in accordance with a predetermined set of rules of play. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a'game device in accordance with the preceding object in 'which the game pieces are in the form of balls with the balls being separated into two groups, one group being colored distinguishably from the other and witheach ball having a tapered socket therein for telescopic reception on an upwardly extending tapered peg.

A further object of the invention is to provide a game device in accordancewith the preceding objects in which the pegs on the game board are arranged in a particular pattern and are interconnected by guide lines indicating a path of movement of the game balls with the pegsbeing oriented three in a row in a direction so that Tic-Tac-Toe can be played by players alternately placing distinguishably colored balls on the pegs with each player having three balls which are alternately placed in position. Ifno winner occurs, play may be continued by moving one ball per play until Tic-Tac- Toe or three in a row is achieved with moves being made only to the next open peg and nojumps being allowed.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro- I vide a game device employing balls which are handled and manipulated by the players so that the fingers of the players will be exercised and manipulated which will alleviate arthritic conditions thereby not only providing an interesting and amusing game but also one 2 which will provide therapeutic benefits to persons employing the game device.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the game board with one of the game balls positioned thereon.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 2- 2 of FIG. 1 illustrating the structure of the game board and the relationship of the socket in the ball to the peg.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the game balls.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral -10 generally designates a game board which includes a substantially'planar upper surface l2 and also asubstantially planar bottom surface 14 with the side peripheral edge of the game board being rounded as at 16. The game board is preferably square and may be of a convenient size to be placed on a table or other playing surface or it may be held in the hand or on the lap, knee area or the like of a player or players. Projecting upwardly from the game board is a plurality of pegs 18 which have their lower ends received in recesses'20 in the upper surface of the game board with the pegs being rigidly affixed thereto by suitable adhesives or other means so that the pegs 18 are permanently and rigidly secured to the game board 10. The upper end portion of the pegs 18 is tapered at 22 with the crosssectional configuration of the peg 18 being circular throughout the length thereof. As illustrated in FIG 1, the pegs are arranged so that three pegs are in a row in any longitudinal, transverse or diagonal direction and the pegs areequally spaced from each other and are spaced inwardly from the periphery 16 of the game board. I 1

The planar surface 12 of the game board 10 is provided with distinguishably colored lines or stripes 24 interconnecting the pins'with the stripes extending both transversely and longitudinally and also diagonally so that all of the pins are connected by a pathway defined by a stripe 24 with the stripe 24 terminating in spaced relation to the pins or pegs which :it interconnects.

Positionable on the pegs 18 is a plurality of spherical balls 26 each of which includes a tapered recess, socket or passageway 28 extending therethrough with the tapered socket 28 requiring that the balls be positioned in a particular manner that is, with the large end of the socket 28 facing downwardly in order for the ball 26 to be placed on the peg 18. When the ball 26 is properly positioned on the peg 18, the tapered socket 28 therein will receive the tapered upper end 22 and the remainder of the peg l8 sufficiently so that the ball will come to rest on the planar upper surface 12 of the game board. The balls provided for use with the game board are six in number with there being three balls of one color, such as pink, and three balls of another color, such as blue so that two players may play the game. In playing a game, the players select the three similarly colored balls and the game board will be bare. Each player takes turns placing his colored ball over a peg with the object being to end the game with three balls in a line in any direction with all balls in line being of the same color. When all six of the balls have been placed without a winner, play is continued by moving one ball per play until a Tic-Tac-Toe is achieved or three balls of the same color are oriented in a row. Moves of the balls must be made to the next open peg only with no jumps being allowed and the balls must follow the lines or pathways defined by the stripes 24.

The specific color of the balls may be altered to provide for variation in the game. In actual practice, this game has beem employed in convalescent homes, rest homes, hospitals, schools, recreation centers, homes and the like and is not only an entertaining game but one which develops skills from both an intellectual as well as a physical standpoint. inasmuch as the balls must be oriented with the larger end of the tapered socket facing downwardly, it is necessary to roll, twist or otherwise manipulate the ball or balls while being held in the hand in order to properly place the ball over the peg. This manipulation is especially useful in therapy for patients having arthritis, paralysis or the like and thus provides not only an entertaining game but also one that introduces therapeutic benefits to the players. Also, skills are necessary and developed especially when all six balls are placed alternately on the bored and no winner occurs. Then, the balls may be moved with the players being in a position to block, corner or box an opponent when endeavoring to obtain three balls of the same color in a row.

The game board may be made of substantially rigid material such as wood, plastic, cardboard, cork board or the like, the pegs may be constructed of wood, plastic, metal or the like and the balls may be constructed of wood, plastic, or metal and be of a convenient size to easily handle and roll or manipulate while gripped by the fingertips.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only ofthe principlesof the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, itis not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A game device comprising a game board having a substantially planar upper surface, a plurality of upwardly projecting pegs on said game board, said pegs being arranged in a predetermined pattern on the game board, and a plurality of balls positionable on said pegs, each of said balls having a socket extending inwardly from the peripheral surface thereof for telescopically receiving one of said pegs, said pegs and sockets being constructed so that the balls must be oriented in a particular relationship in order to telescope the peg into the socket thereby requiring manipulation of the ball in order to position it properly to fit down over the peg, said board being substantially square in configuration, said pegs being arranged in longitudinal, transverse and diagonal rows so that three pegs are in alignment with each other in longitudinal directions, transverse directions and diagonal directions, said balls being arranged in two sets, each set containing three balls of identical color with the balls of one set being colored distinguishably from the balls of the other set, said pegs having a height less than the diameter of the balls, the upper end of each peg being tapered to guidingly position the socket in the ball downwardly onto the peg, said socket in each ball being in the form of a diametrically extending passageway tapered from one end to the other with the larger end of the passageway being capable of telescopic engagement over the peg and the smaller end of the passage way being incapable of positioning in telescopic scopic relation over a peg.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said tapered passageways are dimensioned to completely receive the pegs so that the balls will rest on the planar surface, said balls positioned singly and alternately from each set onto the pegs in an effort to position three of the same color balls in a row, said balls being movable from one peg to the other without jumping when all six balls have been positioned on the pegs without orienting three balls of the same color in a line.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the board includes stripes thereon extending longitudinally and transversely and also diagonally between adjacent pegs to indicate the path of movement of the ball, the requisite rolling and manipulation of the balls in order to register the socket therein with the pegs providing therapeutic benefit by exercising the fingers of the players.

4. A game device comprising a game board having a substantially planar upper surface, a plurality of upwardly projecting pegs on said game board, said pegs being arranged in longitudinal, transverse and diagonal rows so that multiple pegs are in alignment with each other in longitudinal directions, transverse directions and diagonal directions, and a plurality of game pieces positionable on said pegs, each of said game pieces having a socket extending inwardly from the peripheral surface thereof for telescopically receiving one of said pegs, said pegs and sockets being constructed so that the game pieces must be oriented in a particular relationship in order to telescope the peg into the socket thereby requiring manipulation of the game piece in order to position it properly to fit down over the peg, said socket in each game piece being in the form of a passageway tapering from one end to the other with only the larger end of the passageway being capable of telescopic engagement over the peg, said passageways having a length and diameter to completely receive the pegs whereby the game pieces will rest on the planar surface when positioned on the pegs.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4, wherein said pegs have a height less than the length of the passageways, the upper end of each peg being tapered to guidingly position the passageway in the game piece downwardly onto the peg, said game pieces being in the form of balls with the passageway in each ball extending completely therethrough and diametrically thereof, said balls being dimensioned for holding in the fingers with manipulation of the balls to align the large end of the passageway with the tapered end of the peg requiring rolling manipulation of the balls thereby providing therapeutic benefit by exercising the fingers.

, UNITED STATES I OFFICE CERTIFICATE CORRECTION Patriot Nos l v ])ti1t:d Q2116 William B. McPhail, Hazel M. McPhail Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

(54) BOARD GAME APPARATUS (76) Inventors; William, B. BsPhail; Hazel MoPhail both or 301 Sea. Breeze 1Dr., Port Richey,

Signed and sealed this 7th day of January 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

"MCCOY M. GIBSONYJR. I c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting flfficer Commissioner of Patents RIM -1 (1559) i uscoMM-oc scan-Poo Q U.S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE l9! 0-30-384, 

1. A game device comprising a game board having a substantially planar upper surface, a plurality of upwardly projecting pegs on said game board, said pegs being arranged in a predetermined pattern on the game board, and a plurality of balls positionable on said pegs, each of said balls having a socket extending inwardly from the peripheral surface thereof for telescopically receiving one of said pegs, said pegs and sockets being constructed so that the balls must be oriented in a particular relationship in order to telescope the peg into the socket thereby requiring manipulation of the ball in order to position it properly to fit down over the peg, said board being substantially square in configuration, said pegs being arranged in longitudinal, transverse and diagonal rows so that three pegs are in alignment with each other in longitudinal directions, transverse directions and diagonal directions, said balls being arranged in two sets, each set containing three balls of identical color with the balls of one set being colored distinguishably from the balls of the other set, said pegs having a height less than the diameter of the balls, the upper end of each peg being tapered to guidingly position the socket in the ball downwardly onto the peg, said socket in each ball being in the form of a diametrically extending passageway tapered from one end to the other with the larger end of the passageway being capable of telescopic engagement over the peg and the smaller end of the passage way being incapable of positioning in telescopic scopic relation over a peg.
 2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said tapered passageways are dimensioned to cOmpletely receive the pegs so that the balls will rest on the planar surface, said balls positioned singly and alternately from each set onto the pegs in an effort to position three of the same color balls in a row, said balls being movable from one peg to the other without jumping when all six balls have been positioned on the pegs without orienting three balls of the same color in a line.
 3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the board includes stripes thereon extending longitudinally and transversely and also diagonally between adjacent pegs to indicate the path of movement of the ball, the requisite rolling and manipulation of the balls in order to register the socket therein with the pegs providing therapeutic benefit by exercising the fingers of the players.
 4. A game device comprising a game board having a substantially planar upper surface, a plurality of upwardly projecting pegs on said game board, said pegs being arranged in longitudinal, transverse and diagonal rows so that multiple pegs are in alignment with each other in longitudinal directions, transverse directions and diagonal directions, and a plurality of game pieces positionable on said pegs, each of said game pieces having a socket extending inwardly from the peripheral surface thereof for telescopically receiving one of said pegs, said pegs and sockets being constructed so that the game pieces must be oriented in a particular relationship in order to telescope the peg into the socket thereby requiring manipulation of the game piece in order to position it properly to fit down over the peg, said socket in each game piece being in the form of a passageway tapering from one end to the other with only the larger end of the passageway being capable of telescopic engagement over the peg, said passageways having a length and diameter to completely receive the pegs whereby the game pieces will rest on the planar surface when positioned on the pegs.
 5. The structure as defined in claim 4, wherein said pegs have a height less than the length of the passageways, the upper end of each peg being tapered to guidingly position the passageway in the game piece downwardly onto the peg, said game pieces being in the form of balls with the passageway in each ball extending completely therethrough and diametrically thereof, said balls being dimensioned for holding in the fingers with manipulation of the balls to align the large end of the passageway with the tapered end of the peg requiring rolling manipulation of the balls thereby providing therapeutic benefit by exercising the fingers. 